Too Many Wizards for One Water Park
by aaquater
Summary: They say coming of age is the most important birthday. Harry wants to make sure Ginny will never ever forget hers.
1. The Ultimate Birthday Gift

_So... today is Ginny's birthday. And I just had to do a birthday story. One that occurred exactly 16 years ago, but who cares? :)  
_

_Thanks to Beth Weasley Snape for being my beta._

_I don't own HP._

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_**The Ultimate Birthday Gift for (Handy)Girls**_

Ginny had expected to get a bit more than a piece of advertising paper from Harry on her seventeenth birthday. Or, at least that's what her first thoughts were when she opened the small, flat package in golden wrapping paper.

It was early morning, on the eleventh of August, nineteen ninety-eight - the date that marked Ginny Weasley's seventeenth birthday - and Harry and Hermione had come to the Burrow to give her their presents. But, they had come a bit too early, because when they arrived, Ginny was still asleep. And that could only mean one thing. One stomach churning, terrifying thing. They had to wake her up. Despite Hermione having told him countless times that they should come later (she knew from her own experience that waking Ginny up didn't pay off), Harry insisted that for some 'mysterious reason,' they had to come early, so that's why Harry was now facing his girlfriend, who was grumpy and annoyed at him for two reasons.

"A piece of paper?! You woke me up and wasted wrapping paper just to give me a piece of bloody _paper_?" Ginny questioned angrily, glaring at her boyfriend through a curtain of her messy, orange, shaped-by-pillow hair, and rubbing her sleep-glued eyes with her fist. She held the paper in her other hand like something smelly and rotten. "And it's not even much; this is just barely enough to wipe my-"

"Ginny!" Hermione exclaimed.

"-with," Ginny finished.

"Hey, don't diss the paper before you read it," Harry said, struggling not to smile. '_Who knew she's so funny when she's sleepy?' _he thought.

Meanwhile, Hermione had moved to Ginny's window and opened the hunter-green curtains, allowing the natural light to infiltrate the room, which, unlike its inhabitant, seemed a lot more bright and cheerful.

"Go to hell, Hermione," Ginny groaned, burrowing her face back into the shapeless thing that used to resemble a pillow, as after Hermione's illuminating act, the sunlight found its way straight into Ginny's eyes.

"Oh, come on," Harry chuckled, reaching out to stroke the bare, pink, skin on Ginny's foot with his fingers. The immediate response came in the shape of a middle finger. "You don't want to spend your whole birthday sleeping, do you?"

These words acted like an electrical shock to Ginny, and it was only with a huge amount of luck that her heel missed Harry's jaw as she jerked awake, jumping into a sitting position on her bed. Having his teeth knocked out and then re-grown back was _not_ something Harry would've wished to relive.

"It's my birthday! I'm an adult now!" Ginny cried and with a squeal of joy.

She pounced for her wand, looking quite predator-like, and started bewitching random facilities in her room.

"And here's the proof of that," Harry muttered, ducking to avoid a clothespin, which was now jumping around the room like a flea on steroids.

Hermione snickered, but it soon died out when her sneakers turned into Grawp-sized, bright cherry red high-heeled shoes, in which she immediately lost her balance and fell to the floor, landing with a plop on the carpet. Rolling her eyes at the over-zippy young witch who had caused her fall, she quickly changed her shoes back and raised a protective shield around herself and Harry.

"Ginny, don't you want to stop before you break something?" Hermione called nervously, when the same spell Ginny had used on clothespins now hit a Beater's bat.

She felt a wave of exasperation seep through her when she noticed Harry was sitting on Ginny's bed laughing, and clearly wasn't going to do anything to calm his girlfriend down anytime soon.

"That's what Reparo is for," Ginny replied, but she called the spells off all the same. "Hey, why didn't you keep the shoes?"

Hermione made a face. "Wrong size."

Ginny grinned. "Don't worry, you'd get used to them. It would just take some practice."

"Some workout, more like," Hermione muttered. "Those shoes were at least half my weight."

"Still less than your average school bag," Harry said. "You know it's true," he added when Hermione threw him a look.

"I can't believe I'm seventeen," Ginny sighed, resting her elbows on the windowsill and watching a group of gnomes chasing some chickens around. One of the gnomes noticed her and sent her a rude gesture. The gnome paid for its moment of daydreaming when a cock pecked it with its beak. Ginny burst into giggles at the sight.

A pair of manly arms wrapped around Ginny's torso from behind. "Me neither," Harry said softly. "If I saw you out on the street, I'd say you were about twelve."

Without looking away from the garden, Ginny poked Harry hard in the ribs. "Git. It's not my fault that I'm short."

"Yeah. It was your height I was talking about," he whispered in her ear, looking pointedly down. "Hey, check it out! I can see the ground from here!"

A sharp kick to the shin told Harry that she was not amused.

"Kidding love. But can you hear me complaining? You're the perfect height for me." Harry rested his chin on the top of Ginny's head and began opening and closing his mouth rapidly, like he was chewing on air.

"I'm really honoured to be your headrest," Ginny huffed, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I seem to recall it being the other way round most of the time," Harry replied, giving his girlfriend a playful nudge.

This time, Ginny turned around in Harry's arms, putting her arms around his neck. Being quick to notice the dangerous signs, Hermione rushed to the package she'd left on the floor by the door before. It wasn't that the Muggleborn witch had anything against Harry's and Ginny's relationship, but she wasn't particularly interested in seeing a steamy snogging session between the two. So, before anything eye-burning could happen, Hermione hastily shoved the carefully-wrapped package between her friends, saying, "Here's your birthday present from me."

Raising her eyebrows curiously, Ginny untangled one hand from Harry's neck to welcome the package. She set it on her bed, and Hermione had to smile when she saw the childlike joyous light sparkling in her chocolate brown eyes as she unwrapped the present carefully.

"Um, Hermione..." Ginny trailed off, not hiding her confusion when, after getting rid of the wrapping paper, she saw a box from a Muggle device she didn't recognise. It didn't look like anything she knew. The device seemed to be made of two parts. One part was a sheet of metal, hemmed by what seemed like chain, the other part orange and probably made of plastic, with an odd-looking set of little holes in the middle. It had what was almost certainly a handle on the side.

When Harry saw the box, he was unable to hide a disbelieving laugh. "A chainsaw? Are you bloody serious, Hermione?"

Hermione flushed. "It's not what it seems! I just couldn't find another box."

"What is a chainsaw?" Ginny inquired.

"Muggles use them for cutting down trees," Harry explained.

Ginny's eyebrows rose. "Well, I used to dream of playing Quidditch professionally, but now that I think about it, being a woodcutter would have its appeal, too..."

A mental image of Ginny wearing woodcutting trousers with galluses and a helmet and charging at trees with a chainsaw while yelling a battle cry appeared in Harry's head, making him snort with laughter.

Hermione groaned. "For Merlin's sake, I didn't buy you a chainsaw, Ginny! Just open the box."

Ginny did so, and immediately, she chuckled at the sight. "Shouldn't have expected anything else," she said, taking out a small, but quite thick paperback book. "Once Upon a Quidditch," she read, intrigued.

"It's supposed to be a collection of Quidditch-related joked and anecdotes," Hermione said.

"Wow, thanks!" Ginny exclaimed, her mouth stretching into a smile.

"There's more in the box," Hermione replied, returning the smile.

Next, Ginny's hand emerged out of the box with a pack of ten chocolate bars in red wrapping. "Cherry Ripe?"

"Australian candy," Hermione explained.

After the war was over and all the trials and funerals ended, Hermione had gone to Australia to retrieve her parents back home. In fact, she had only returned four days prior to this day. And while her parents were hurt, Hermione was happy they had at least accepted that she'd done it solely for their safety. But she was aware it would take a long time for their relationship to at least get to the level it had been at after her sixth year.

Lastly, Ginny found several pairs of socks in the box. Her face took a bewildered mask once again. "What am I, a bloke?" she chuckled, fingering the fabric.

"Judging by the state of your socks, I'd say yes," Hermione commented.

Ginny snickered. "If you mean the holes, I keep them for ventilation."

"That's why I bought you these," Hermione said, gesturing to the new socks. "They're charmed; cooling in summer, warming in winter, and they're air-permeable."

Ginny nodded. "Thank you. I wonder how long it'll take before I create thumb holes into these..."

Catching the joking tone of Ginny's voice, Hermione huffed. "How grateful."

"I hope you won't treat my gift the same way," Harry said, clutching the paper to his chest before handing it over to Ginny.

"It's a leaflet," Hermione noticed, now that there was more light in the room. Suddenly, all seemed clearer to her. When she had first seen Harry's present, she thought he had to be kidding - who gives his girlfriend a piece of paper on her coming-of-age birthday? - but a leaflet symbolised an event or an attraction, and that was probably what Harry wanted to take Ginny to.

"A water park? What is a water park?" Ginny asked. "A park where there are many lakes or a swamp or something?"

It took all Harry had not to burst out laughing. "No! It's an area with pools and water slides and other water attractions," he explained.

"Water... slides?" Ginny looked confused.

"They end in a pool, and there's also water flowing inside them," Hermione said.

"If there wasn't, you'd either burn your bum while sliding down or couldn't slide at all, depending on the gradient," Harry put in.

"So... I guess there isn't a chance of getting wet, is there?"

"Absolutely none," Harry grinned. Hermione rolled her eyes, but smiled nonetheless.

"That's your gift, isn't it?" Ginny asked thoughtfully. "You're inviting me to the water park?"

"Um," Harry scratched the back of his head, "I kind of thought all of us could go - all four, I mean."

"All four; so the three of us and-" Hermione started, but Ginny beat her to the answer.

"Neville?"

"Neville?! Why Neville? No; it's obviously us and-"

"Charlie!"

"What? Charlie? All the way from _Romania_?" Hermione huffed.

Figuring out that Ginny wasn't going to let her say the correct answer, even though the younger witch knew full well how much Hermione loved answering questions, she knew that Ginny and Harry both knew the right one, so she decided not to try again.

"Yeah, get real, Ginny," Harry said, catching on to his girlfriend's game. "It's Hagrid; isn't that obvious?"

Ginny made a gagging sound. "Did you have to? I mean; I really like Hagrid and all, but I don't like picturing him in a swimsuit!"

Hermione grimaced, trying to get rid of the mental picture that appeared in her head, while Harry just laughed. "Kidding; I've invited your ghoul to come with us."

The girls laughed and the game continued, the suggestions getting more and more ridiculous - Malfoy, McGonagall, Firenze, Kreacher, The Fat Lady, Peeves, Nearly-Headless Nick, Giant Squid, Merlin...

"But Merlin had a long beard; wouldn't that bother him if he went swimming?" Hermione managed to say through her laughter.

"It-it would go straight into h-his face if he went down a slide," Ginny said, wiping the tears from her laughter onto her pillow.

That was the last straw for Harry; he had to sit down next to Ginny's bed and lean against it because he couldn't stay standing.

"Hey Ginny, where's all the noise coming from? Oh, hi guys, what are you doing here?" Ron - who had been coming down for breakfast when he saw his sister's door open and heard the laughter - asked.

"Hi mate," Harry said, hiccupping as he tried to compose himself. "Come join us, we've been discussing how Merlin would look like on a slide."

Ron sent his best friend a look questioning his sanity, and the look was enough to send the girls into another wave of uncontrollable laughter.

After a few minutes, Hermione, trusting herself to speak coherently, explained the situation and Harry's plan to Ron. Harry had to help her later on, because he was the one who knew the whole plan; Hermione only told Ron what she was certain that was true, and that wasn't much. All that Harry had written in his message to her the previous day was to be at the Burrow at six AM sharp and bring her swimsuit along with the present.

When she had first seen the message, Hermione felt like strangling Harry; it was in her mail box, and with no stamp, which meant Harry had to have delivered it in person. Merlin's Beard; if he had bothered to physically appear at her street, why couldn't he have rang the doorbell and actually talk to her instead of leaving a note like a schoolboy with a crush?

"So that's why you wanted to know if we were at home today," Ron realised.

Harry nodded. "Yeah; I didn't want to clash with whatever plan you had."

"Hold on; do Mum and Dad know about this?" Ginny asked.

"Yeah, they do; well, at least your mum does. She was already in the kitchen when we arrived, so I told her; and she said your dad was already at work," Harry said.

"You did?" Hermione asked, surprised. "My mind must've been somewhere else; I didn't realise."

"Yeah; with Ron," Ginny grinned, making Hermione blush.

"There's nothing wrong with that," Ron said, throwing Hermione a cheeky grin. "So; breakfast, and then we go?"

"You and your stomach," Hermione sighed quietly. "Don't you need to pack anything? I don't suppose you have your swimsuit on."

Ron was already gone, so her words went unnoticed by him. The three friends who stayed in the room shared a meaningful glance, all thinking the same.

"I'll tell him," Ginny said, rolling her eyes. Then, when she went through the door, she turned around, leaning on the doorframe. "Oh, and don't think Mum would let you stay here without breakfast, so you should come down unless you want me to come here with orders to capture you and bring you down, using brutal force if necessary."

"But we both have already had breakfast," Hermione said.

"Do you think that matters to my mum? Come, so I won't have to make the same journey three times."

It was just as Ginny had predicted. No matter what Harry and Hermione said, Mrs. Weasley didn't stop persuading them to eat until they both ate one toast and one fried egg each. Compared to Ron's four toasts and five eggs, it wasn't much, but it was enough to Mrs. Weasley, and that was all that mattered to the two non-Weasleys.

After breakfast, they ran back upstairs and Ron and Ginny grabbed their swimsuits and towels and stuffed them into Harry's backpack; courtesy of Hermione's Undetectable Extending Charm, it could now fit as much stuff as the average trunk of a Mini MPV.

"Well," Ginny clapped her hands, "can we go?"

Harry and Hermione looked at the Weasleys, at each other, and at the Weasleys again. "Um... I don't know if it would be such a good idea to show up in pyjamas," Hermione said timidly.

Ron and Ginny took a look at their clothes and said, "Bloody hell!" Ron ran upstairs to his room to change and Ginny, after making a quick swoop through her wardrobe, disappeared into the bathroom. "Hermione, I trust you not to let Harry spend too much time in my underwear drawer," she called just before she closed the door.

As soon as they were alone, Harry and Hermione burst out laughing.

Ron came in a couple of minutes later, wearing a simple beige Henley shirt and faded jeans. Then, they had to wait a little more for Ginny, who had more business than just changing out of her pyjamas to do in the bathroom. She took a quick shower, as upon her arrival in the bathroom, the mirror had told her she stank like she'd spent the last night in a night club for thugs (the offending piece of furniture promptly received a middle-fingered greeting for that; how in Merlin's earrings could the mirror smell her anyway?) and brushed her hair, so the hairy swamp monster disappeared, having been replaced by Ginny Weasley. When Ginny entered her room again, she wore black running shorts and an orange boob tube.

Harry whistled appreciatively. "You look nice."

"Just nice?" Ginny asked, cocking one eyebrow up and indicating to her perfectly toned body with her hands.

"Completely and utterly, mind bogglingly stunning," Harry replied with a dramatic look, placing his hand on his chest.

"Thanks," Ginny smiled, throwing her pyjamas on her bed. "Ready now?"

Harry nodded, but then he suddenly swore, making Hermione glare at him. "I had a feeling I have forgotten something," he muttered. More loudly, he continued. "I wanted to stop in Gringotts to get the money for the entrance and all yesterday, but I didn't and... I realised now, I don't suppose I'd be welcome there, for some reason."

Ron, Hermione and Ginny laughed. "No; why would you think that?" Ron said in a mock-surprised voice.

"I don't know; it couldn't be because we pretty much destroyed the insides, could it?" Harry played along.

"You two are so stupid," Ginny muttered with her head in her hands. She was truly surprised how easily she could laugh at something that had nearly given a heart attack when she first heard about it. '_Well, it's not like it's rare for them to get into such insane situations,' _she thought dryly.

"Don't tell me you mind," Harry grinned. "Um... but what now?"

"Harry, didn't Bill enter your vault once?" Hermione questioned.

"Yeah... but I'm not gonna bother Bill for this."

"That's not what I meant; if Bill could enter your vault without the goblins protesting against it, why couldn't Ginny?"

"_Me?_"

"Well, seeing as there are so many Ginnys that we know..." Ron trailed off.

"Oh, shut up. Do you think they'll let me? I mean, Bill works for Gringotts."

Hermione shook her head. "Working for them surely can't automatically give him access to all vaults."

"Yeah," Harry said, taking his vault key out of Hagrid's mokeskin pouch and pressing it into his girlfriend's palm. "Anyway, your mum has been in my vault, too, so I guess you just have to have the key... and preferably, no dog biscuits," he grinned.

"What?" Ginny asked, totally confused. "Why in the world would I need dog biscuits?"

"Oh, nothing, it's just that when Hagrid first took me to my vault, he emptied his pockets on the goblin's desk while he was searching for the key. The goblin was... um, thrilled."

"I'd imagine," Hermione commented.

"Hey, who d'you think they were for; Fang or Fluffy?" Ron asked suddenly.

Harry looked at him oddly. "Fang, of course! You think Fluffy would eat biscuits?"

"Well, I think he has to eat something other than eleven-year-olds that got lost," Ron defended his point.

"I was twelve," Hermione protested.

Harry and Ron looked at Hermione, like, 'Seriously?', and then all three of them started chuckling. "Ah, good old times," Harry sighed.

"Um, do I want to know?" Ginny asked warily. Phrases 'good old times' and 'eating eleven-year-olds' didn't belong together in her mind, but it looked like she was the only one in the room who had this opinion.

"No," Harry, Hermione and Ron chorused at the same time.

Ginny shook her head at the trio. "So, back to the point. You're saying that I shouldn't have a problem accessing the vault?" After receiving an affirmative answer, she continued, "Um... and how much should I take? Thirty Galleons?"

"Oh, no," Harry said, "I thought about... sixty or so should be enough... or, no, take seventy, so we'll be sure we've got enough."

"That much?" Ginny gasped. She suddenly felt nervous at handling such a big amount of money.

"We'll be having lunch there," Harry said.

"And so?"

"And Ron is going to have lunch, too."

"Oi!" Ron shoved the laughing Harry down from Ginny's bed he'd been sitting on.

"Ron, you can't deny that you eat much," Hermione, ever the logical one, pointed out.

"Yeah, but... not worth forty Galleons!"

"Okay, okay, don't flip out on us. The entrance only would cost about thirty anyway," Harry rolled his eyes.

"Um, thirty... Galleons? It's a wizarding water park?" Hermione asked.

"What? No, it's not. Err, Ginny, you'll have to exchange the money... somewhere." Harry scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"When you enter the bank, the first three goblins on the right do Galleon - Pound transactions," Hermione put in.

"Thanks," Ginny said. "Ugh, I feel like I'm going on a... quest or something. Um, you'll wait for me here, right?"

"No, I'll be in the attic, chatting with the ghoul," Harry said seriously.

Ginny pouted. "Will you really? I thought I was the one you liked! And now I hear that the moment I'm off, you're going to run to your secret lover. I should've seen the signs when you wanted to invite him to the water park..."

Harry sighed dramatically. "You caught me, Gin. I thought it could remain a secret forever, but I'll come out with the truth now. I've really just been using you to make the ghoul jealous, and it worked. I can still remember the night when he came to visit me, confessing that he's been secretly in love with me for three years, and then he jumped on my bed-"

Swallowing down the urge to show Harry how well she'd chewed her breakfast, Ginny put her hand on his mouth. "That's nasty!"

"Mate, you're sick," Ron added, staring intently at Ginny's Harpies posters to get the images of his best friend and the ghoul out of his head. Hermione looked unable to speak.

"Alright, I'll omit today's session," Harry said with laughter.

"That's better," Ginny nodded, a grin beginning to stretch on her face. "Don't leave these two alone in here; I don't want to be an aunt yet!"

Ron and Hermione both blushed and began spluttering while Harry roared with laughter.

"Well, I'm off," Ginny pecked Harry on the lips and turned to Ron and Hermione. "Play nice, at least in my room," she grinned before departing.

"That... that..." Ron huffed, struggling to find words to describe his sister with.

"You can't blame her for warning you, though," Harry chortled, earning Ron's glare.

"Oh, stop that," Hermione muttered, blushing and turning away from the boys.

"Alright," Harry held his hands up in surrender. "So... what are we going to- What are you still doing here?" Harry asked, addressing the last question to Ginny, who had appeared in the door.

"Um..." Ginny blushed. "I kinda forgot your vault's number, Harry."

Harry shook his head, chuckling. "You wouldn't make a good robber; making such an amateur mistake."

Ginny hung her head sadly. "Here go my future plans," she sniffed.

Harry only shrugged, making Ginny huff. "Nice to know you care about my future."

"I know," Harry said. "The number's 687. Hey, and didn't you want to be a woodcutter, anyway?"

Ginny stuck her tongue out at Harry and ran down the stairs. In the kitchen, she said bye to her mum, grabbed a fistful of the Floo Powder and, yelling, "Diagon Alley!" she stepped into the weird green flames that always made her feel slightly sick. But what wouldn't she do for Harry, right?

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_Preview - chapter 2:_

_"This is an assault! Surrender all your food or I'll start... uh... belching!"_

_So, if you can be a good reader and review, you'll find out what it's about! Nah, kidding, you'll find out anyway, but reviews will make me happy :)_


	2. Dementors Prefer Girls with Make-Up

_Chapter 2 is here, people :) Thank you for all the feedback I got on the first one. You're awesome!_

_Thanks to Beth Weasley Snape for helping me with the chapter._

_I still don't own HP._

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_**Dementors Prefer Girls with Make-Up**_

When the green whirlwind finally ended, Ginny toppled out of the fireplace in the Leaky Cauldron - one of the most popular pubs for witches and wizards - and dusted herself off. She had no desire to walk around Diagon Alley - which just happened to be one of the most well-liked places in the Wizarding world - looking like someone who'd just tumbled out of a chimney, even if, that's what had happened. Bah, technicalities.

The old pub was more or less empty. There was only a small group of old wizards around a table in the corner, so Ginny only said hello to Tom and stepped outside. She tapped the wall with her wand, and when the bricks had moved aside - something that had never failed to fascinate the girl - the young witch saw the Diagon Alley.

The alley was much more crowded than the Leaky Cauldron. There were mostly families or lone adults there, but Ginny also saw a large group of school-age boys, some of which she recognised as Hufflepuffs two years below her. One of them, she knew by name - Rick, the boy who had once been assigned to send Crucio at her for talking back to... ahem, 'Professor' Amycus Carrow. The poor boy had nearly had a nervous _breakdown_ when he'd heard what he had to do. When he was done, he had tears running down his face and he was whispering "Sorry," over and over. The next morning, he'd brought her a small vial of Pain-Stopping potion from Madam Pomfrey with a note that read 'I'M SORRY' stuck to it. Ginny had forgiven him even before he'd said the curse. It wasn't _his _fault he was forced to perform an Unforgivable Curse, but she thought it was sweet of him to bring her the potion and pitied him for what he'd had to go through. She later gave the vial to Seamus, who needed it after a particularly nasty series of hexes from the Carrows themselves, but that was another story, one that Ginny didn't want to focus on now that the Carrows were gone from her life; hopefully for good.

Ginny couldn't help but notice how the alley looked less like it had during the last two years, and more like it had before the war. There were still some empty, boarded-up stores, but it looked like life had finally returned to this wizarding shopping mall, and she was happy for that. The obvious traces of the war were finally getting patched up, even though those in people's hearts, souls and memories would stay forever.

Ginny gave herself a shake, mentally scolding herself for thinking about such horrible thoughts on her birthday. She forced herself to look at all the shop displays to keep her mind from wandering again. Passing by Quidditch Quality Supplies, she noticed that in front of that shop, there was a bigger crowd than in front of any of the other shops, and she chuckled to herself, because that's how she had always remembered it to be. Being a Quidditch lunatic was about as rare as having two legs amongst the wizarding folk. '_And that's how it should be,'_ Ginny, a Quidditch lunatic herself, thought.

When Ginny reached Gringotts, she saw the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes in front of her. Even with the colours returning to the alley, her brother's shop still shone with its bright purple colour.

Watching people of all ages and genders go in and out of the shop, Ginny thought bitterly about how the apostrophe in the sign was now misplaced. '_It's so unfair! Why did he have to die?'_ she thought furiously, something prickling in the corner of her eye.

Then, Ginny remembered something Percy – Percy, of all people – had told her. "Fred wouldn't want you to spend the rest of your life mourning over him," he had said. "Remember, yes, as he wouldn't want to be forgotten, but he'd want you – us all, really – to enjoy every single day. That's what he lived for." And though it had definitely been easier at first to just shut herself off people and drown in bittersweet thoughts and memories, eventually, Ginny had understood. She had begun living fully again; living for Fred, living a life he had never got to live, and she had decided to spike it with as much fun as she could, because he had been trying to do the same for everybody his whole life. She hadn't forgotten him (honestly, Ginny didn't think it was possible to forget someone like Fred without a strong dose of Obliviate); she had decided to honour him.

To enter the bank, one needed to get themselves checked by the guards first, so Ginny stepped to one of them; she didn't want to follow in her boyfriend's shoes as a robber, at least not yet, especially when that was the very reason she was there instead of Harry. However, when she looked at the guard properly, she couldn't help the small gasp that escaped her lips, because she saw a face that was very familiar to her.

"Alicia?!" Ginny exclaimed, her brown eyes wide in surprise.

"Ginny?"

"What are you doing here?"

"What does it look like I'm doing in this uniform? Selling candy floss?" the older witch replied, amusement obvious in her voice.

"No, I just..." Ginny shook her head in amusement. "I would've never thought I'd see you guarding a bank."

Alicia shrugged. "Me neither. It just... happened."

"I thought you'd continue your Quidditch career," Ginny said.

Alicia shook her head, causing some strands of her black hair to fall into her face. She tucked them behind her ears impatiently. "No, that was just a hobby for me. I'm not that good anyway-"

"Are you kidding? I've seen you play, and you're fantastic!"

"Come on; we both know that if you'd tried out sooner, I wouldn't have been on the team."

"Well, um, I wouldn't go as far as to say that. How's life going? I mean; besides having to deal with goblins every day," she said uncomfortably.

"It's good. I'm so glad the war is over... I was so nervous when there were Death Eaters and Dementors everywhere. I couldn't even wear eyeliner 'cause I was afraid I'd poke myself in the eye," Alicia exclaimed, sporting an obviously fake angry look.

Ginny burst out laughing and Alicia joined in. "You should've held a sign saying, 'Dear Death Eaters and Dementors, please, be patient and don't attack before I apply my eyeliner. Sincerely, Alicia Spinnet.' or something like that," Ginny guffawed.

"Yeah, 'cause I'm sure the Dementors appreciate if their victim is good-looking," Alicia laughed, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Ew," Ginny shuddered. "Just... don't go there, okay?"

Alicia frowned. "What are you-" Her eyes widened. "Ginny! You have a disturbing mind, you know that?"

"So I've been told," she said poshly.

The older witch sighed. "At least you know. Hey, what are you wearing?" Alicia raised a quizzical eyebrow and looked Ginny up and down.

"Oh, this?" Ginny pulled at the bottom of her boob tube. "Muggle clothes. Much more comfortable to walk in than robes."

Alicia, a pureblood, raised her eyebrows. "If you think so. Oh, have you heard that Katie and Oliver are together?"

"No; are they? Good," she said without waiting for an answer. "At least I didn't spend all those hours listening to Katie gushing about him for nothing. It was a bit annoying, you know?"

Right after the words left Ginny's mouth, she realised she'd complained to the wrong person. Ginny had been on the team with Katie for a year and a half; Alicia for four years. Five, if she counted the year of the Triwizard. _And_, with Oliver on the team, too.

"I wonder what that was like," Alicia said dryly. "Katie wrote me that they had their first date two days ago. You've got three guesses, where did Oliver invite her?"

Ginny grinned. "Which game?" she asked. She may have never spoken to him in person, but she'd heard stories that Oliver Wood took Quidditch fanaticism to a whole new level. There was no doubt in Ginny's mind that with Oliver, even romantic stuff had to be Quidditch-orientated; especially if the other person was Katie Bell, who wouldn't have minded one bit.

"Tornadoes vs. Arrows, but she said she doesn't remember much from the match itself-"

"OI! Would you mind stopping gossiping and moving? Some people are in a hurry, you know!" an angry man's voice yelled from behind Ginny.

"Some people could try asking politely at first," Ginny snapped back. "So... see you sometime later, Alicia?"

Alicia shrugged. "I suppose; I work here on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays in the mornings; the other days, I work afternoons."

Ginny nodded and, not wishing to test the man's temper anymore (it wasn't so improbable that he had at least some Weasley genes in him), she let herself be checked by Alicia and entered the bank.

The first part of Ginny's 'mission' went even better than she had expected; the goblin permitted her to enter Harry's vault immediately, the only thing she had to do was give the key to him. Though, judging from the goblin's scowl, he wasn't happy about something - and Ginny was sure what it was - when she told him which vault the key was from.

The other goblin, who rode with her in the cart, wore an even nastier grimace. Ginny could've sworn that he drove the cart faster than normally, even though the goblins always claimed there is only one speed. The fact stayed that Ginny had always enjoyed the rides, but this one made her feel sick to her stomach. Although that might've also been because she had (over)eaten no more than twenty minutes before.

When the goblin unlocked the vault, Ginny's jaw dropped. Inside, there was more money than she'd ever seen in her life! Galleons, Sickles and Knuts were piled up on each other like metallic molehills of incredible value. She supposed that Harry could buy a Cleansweep for every person at Hogwarts and he'd still have some money left. (Yes, that was Ginny's unit for measuring huge amounts of money – one Cleansweep.)

Yeah, Ginny might've been to Harry's vault before, but that was during the summer before her first year. She had been a blushing, stuttering and butter-elbowing mess around Harry back then, so with him there, she had trouble concentrating on anything other than Harry and how to spy him best without him noticing, so she hadn't noticed the vault's contents behind his amazing hair.

Forcing her jaw back to its right place, Ginny shook herself from her stupor and grabbed the required amount of money. One crazy cart ride later, she was standing back in the Gringotts' main hall, taking deep breaths in order to stop herself from decorating the floor. Half-digested toasts were so _not_ the latest hot.

'_Now, Hermione said the first three goblins on the... left? No, on the right; but from which side?' _Ginny wondered, looking at the working goblins. Neither looked any different to her, so she decided on one of them.

"Hello, um... could you please exchange these to Muggle Pounds?" Ginny asked, putting a leather pouch with the money on the goblin's desk.

The goblin Ginny had chosen appeared to be extra-wrinkly. His large ears held a big amount of hair, which Ginny tried very hard not to concentrate on as she waited for him to look up from the book he'd been writing in. When the goblin finally did, he looked at her like she was slightly strange. "Go to the other side of the hall, miss," he pointed to the goblin furthest away from her.

"Oh. Um... thanks," Ginny said, sighing internally. '_Just my luck that I picked the wrong one.'_

The second exchange went better, and soon instead of big, heavy coins, Ginny carried only several light, strange papers. She found it hard to believe that those papers were worth more than actual gold.

Ginny returned to the Leaky Cauldron, waving at Alicia as she left the bank, and Flooed back home. Immediately, a strong but delicious smell filled her nostrils and she heard her stomach rumble, even though she'd had breakfast only about an hour before.

"What are you cooking, Mum?" Ginny asked.

"Mashed potatoes, dear."

"Yum..." Ginny moaned. "Mum, will you save some for me for dinner?" she pleaded.

Mrs. Weasley smiled. "No."

Ginny's jaw dropped in horror. "_No?_ Why? At least some leftovers from lunch, please!"

"There will be no leftovers from lunch."

"Come on, Mum! At least two potatoes," Ginny whined.

"How can I find two potatoes if they're mashed?"

"Mu_uum_..."

Mrs. Weasley couldn't hold it in anymore. She started laughing. Ginny stared at her.

"Sorry for teasing you, dear. Harry has rather crossed my plans with taking you away for lunch, so I've decided to make this a dinner, and I'll whip up something else for lunch for myself. And that's why there won't be any leftovers," Mrs. Weasley explained with mirth in her eyes.

Ginny shot a playful glare at her mum. "You almost gave me heart failure," she said and ran upstairs, where she hoped her friends were waiting for her.

The door was closed, but not completely. A crack was left to peek through, and that's exactly what Ginny did, apprehensive of what she might find. She didn't need to worry, though; inside, Harry, Ron and Hermione were sitting on the ground and playing cards; all three laughing, even though Ron was looking sour, like the game wasn't going the way he wanted it to go.

Ron's game wasn't the only thing. A long time had passed since Ginny had led the rebellion and it seemed like her sneaking-around abilities were getting rusty. Harry, being the one sitting opposite the door, warned Ron and Hermione about the presence of a spy.

Her cover blown, Ginny decided to make her entrance as grand as possible. Wrapping her hair around her nose and mouth, she kicked the door open and stepped into her room, thundering, "This is an assault! Surrender all your food or I'll start... uh... belching!"

"Belching?" Harry snorted. "Is that _really_ the best thing you can come up with?"

"Hey, careful what you say," Ron said warningly. "I don't know about now, but a couple of years ago... well, it was not something you'd want to hear on any day."

Ginny let her hair fall down and flashed Ron a mischievous grin. "I've got better since. _Anyway_," she turned back to Harry, remembering her departure from the Burrow, "anything to report?"

Harry shook his head with a smile. "Thankfully, no. The watched objects' behaviour was controlled and kept PG."

Ginny wiped imaginary drops of sweat from her forehead. "Thank Merlin!" Seeing Ron and Hermione wearing identical annoyed expressions, she smirked. "Hey, don't scowl so much or your faces will stay that way forever. Anyway, I was successful with the exchange, I've got Muggle money, so we can go," Ginny said.

"Fine, just wait till we finish this game, okay?" Ron muttered.

"And what if I can't?" Ginny stuck up her nose snobbishly.

"Then I'll Stun you until we finish," Ron replied, not taking his eyes off the cards.

Ginny rolled her eyes at him. "Yeah, I have the big brother every girl dreams of," she muttered to herself.

Two minutes later the game was finished and Ginny Banished the cards away in impatience.

"Hey! It wasn't shuffled," Ron protested.

"You can shuffle as much as you like when we come back, dearest brother," Ginny said. "Now, let's go."

"Sir, yes sir," Harry saluted, earning an eye-roll from his girlfriend.

"Wait, how are we going to get there? Apparate?" Hermione asked.

Harry shook his head. "No, I couldn't side-along all of you. I've never been there anyway; I just saw the leaflet."

"Floo?" Ron suggested.

"Don't be stupid Ron, there wouldn't be a fireplace at the water park, much less one connected to the Floo Network. It's a Muggle water park," Hermione said.

"Okay, you don't have to jump down my throat," Ron muttered.

"But don't you like it when she's down your throat? With her tongue?" Ginny said teasingly.

Ron and Hermione blushed for the second time in four minutes and Harry got up from the floor to high-five Ginny.

"We're going on the Knight Bus," Harry said.

Ron stared at him, horrified. "You're kidding, right? We're going on that infernal thing?"

"Well, that's easiest by far. Would you prefer going there on foot?" Harry reasoned.

"No, but... And by the way, where is _there_, exactly?"

"Near Washington."

"What?!" Ron exclaimed.

"Um, Harry, you do realise that the Knight Bus doesn't go to America, right?" Hermione asked warily.

"It does if we hijack it," Harry said brightly. "Ginny's just shown us how."

"Harry..."

Harry rolled his eyes. "It's a village near Brighton."

"Oh. Well, that's... better," Hermione said, feeling awkward.

"Yeah, better that you weren't proven wrong," Ginny muttered. Hermione heard and shot her a glare, but Ginny wasn't fazed. "So, when all is set, we can go, right?" And not waiting for a response, she exited her room, not unlike her brother a little more than an hour before.

Harry chuckled, throwing his backpack over his shoulders and following Ginny down the staircase. "Someone's a bit eager."

"So? Those water slides sound like fun," Ginny pouted. "Bye Mum," she called into the kitchen.

"Goodbye dears. Have fun and don't be too long," Mrs. Weasley called back. "And don't drown, or you won't get dinner."

"We won't, don't worry," Ginny responded and stepped outside, the others soon following her. Crops quickly surrounded them, and they became drenched in sweat much faster than they'd like as they walked on the narrow dirt path through the fields, the warm sun slowly deep-frying them in their own clothes.

"You know; sometimes I really hate that we have so many wards and stuff around our house," Ron complained, walking towards Ottery St. Catchpole. Because of the wards, they couldn't call the Knight Bus from their front porch; they had to go past them. The other reason was that there weren't any roads leading to the Burrow, only a path, and the nearest normal road was exactly in the village.

"Don't complain, Ronald; you're the one who needs to make the least steps," Hermione said, shooting Ron a look.

"Yeah, and what's the difference? Three? Four?"

"Ron, don't! You know she's really going to calculate it," Harry warned jokingly.

Hermione huffed. "Gits."

"Do you deny it?" Harry asked.

"Hey, less arguing and more walking there at the back," Ginny yelled. Encouraged by her excitement, she was walking a good ten metres in front of the trio, and the gap was constantly lengthening.

"Less running away and more adapting to the pace of the elder," Ron retorted.

"Keep dreaming, mate," Harry said, smiling as Ginny stuck out her tongue at Ron and increased her pace.

Ron's eyes narrowed. "It's a race that she wants? Okay then," he muttered before running after his sister at full speed. Harry, who had heard him, ran after him, but even though he was fast, Ron was faster and he caught up with Ginny in no time. When he whizzed past her like a TGV, Ginny grinned and joined the race.

"Hey guys! What are you doing? _Wait_!" Hermione called after the three runners. "What happened to adapting to the pace of the elder?"

"Run, Granny," Ginny yelled back, laughing.

"Grannies shouldn't run," Hermione groaned and started running after her friends, but there was no contest between her and the three in front of her. Even at full speed, the three figures in front of Hermione were getting smaller and smaller.

Ron reached the village first and stopped at the side of the road, panting. After a little while, Harry and Ginny joined him. Ginny bent over with her hands on her knees to catch her breath and Harry squatted, leaning against his girlfriend's legs and trying not to be too obvious about watching the effects her deep breathing had on her top.

"Where's Hermione?" Ron asked, looking back but unable to see the smart bushy-haired witch.

Harry shrugged. "Somewhere far behind us, I suppose. Ginny told her to run, but I don't think she heard."

Just then, Hermione appeared, wheezing like a locomotive, drops of sweat visible on her forehead. "Why are you all so fast," she gasped.

"More like why are you so slow," Ron said.

"I'm not a sportswoman, Ron."

"Me neither, but half a mile of running doesn't kill me," Ron retorted.

"You play Quidditch, so last time I checked, you were a sportsman," Hermione said. "Anyway; wasn't it you who was complaining, when we were just walking?"

"Good one Hermione," Ginny gave her best friend a thumbs up while Ron said, "Yeah, sports_man_; not sports_woman_."

"Are you seriously going to argue about whether Ron is or isn't a woman?" Harry groaned.

"No, 'cause the answer is clear. He just wishes to be that cool," Ginny smirked.

Ron glared at her. "I don't wish to be a woman!"

"Guys, stop," Harry yelled.

There was an awkward silence when nobody did or said anything. Then, as on cue, everyone looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"What are we waiting for?" Ron asked, shoving his right hand in the air. "Let the hell ride begin!"

* * *

_Preview - chapter 3:_

_"'Every point mass in the universe attracts every other point mass with a force that is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them,'" she quoted._

_Reviews are appreciated :)_


	3. What Does a Family Ticket Mean?

_Another one is here! I hope you're enjoying the story so far, 'cause we're finally at the water park! Or, you know, the characters are...  
_

_Again, this chapter is beta-ed by the amazing Beth Weasley Snape and uses material not owned by me._

* * *

_**What Does a Family Ticket Mean?**_

One puking-invoking bus ride later, the quartet stood in front of the gates of the water park, staring disbelievingly at the enormous amount of people in front of the cash desks.

"You've got to be kidding me," Ginny groaned. "We'll have to wait in line behind all these people?"

Harry grimaced. "We'll be here until _noon _at this rate."

Hermione shook her head. "Harry, you're exaggerating. There are four cash desks, and about one hundred people waiting. They're in groups of what looks like twos and threes and one group takes about three minutes, so... about half an hour, I say."

"Half an hour is still a long time," Ron complained. "Hey, what if we Confunded them into thinking that _we _were in front of _them_-"

"_Ronald__!_" Hermione reprimanded him.

"It wouldn't work anyway, mate," Harry said. "I'm sure they've got some security cameras. You can't Confund a camera."

"Come- what?" Ron and Ginny asked, confused.

"Camera," Hermione corrected. "It's a Muggle technological device that allows people to look into places without physically being in these places. The camera records the image and sends it to a computer, where the image shows. That's how security cameras work, anyway – there's a person watching the screen, on which the images are projected."

"Wow," Ron said. "Kind of like the Caterwauling charm, isn't it?"

"Um... not really," Hermione hesitated. "Alarms are the Muggle version of the Caterwauling charm; cameras don't make any sound when they notice something. They don't warn thieves or anyone else that they're being watched."

Suddenly, Ron didn't look so awed anymore. "That's... stalkerish. Hang on; what you're saying is that there are those camaros-"

"Cameras."

"Cameras, whatever; they're here, in a place where people aren't... well... _clothed?_"

"There aren't cameras in the changing rooms, Ron," Harry said. "Well, at least I don't think there are."

Ginny tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Would I be right if I said that you're only interested in that 'cause you want to place a secret camera in Hermione's bathroom?"

"YOU!" Ron yelled and started chasing Ginny, who was running away from him, laughing.

Harry smiled, shaking his head at the siblings before turning to Hermione.

"Not a word," Hermione said, her face tomato red.

"Okay, a sentence then," Harry said.

Hermione threw him a look.

"No, seriously," Harry continued. "A sentence, which goes like: Why are we still here? The longer we stay here, away from the line, the later we'll get inside."

"You're right... Ron, Ginny, we're going to stand in the line," Hermione called.

She'd assumed that it would make the siblings stop chasing each other like two toddlers that didn't want to share a toy, but to her bewilderment, Ron just shouted "Okay!" to show her that he understood, and continued running after his sister.

Hermione groaned. "I was hoping for too much, wasn't I?" She jabbed her thumb at the duo.

"Yep," Harry confirmed. "Hey, look at this." He motioned to the price list. "I think I've got an idea about how to save some money on entrance fees."

Harry explained his idea to Hermione and her eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Do you really think it would work?" she asked disbelievingly.

Harry shrugged. "It has to. With the way it's written, they have to sell us the ticket."

Hermione looked uneasy. "Harry, I know that from a lawyer's point of view, you're right, but from the logical point of view..."

"I've once heard that when it comes to me, all logic goes on a holiday," Harry said.

"No you haven't," a female voice said from behind Harry, causing him to jump.

Behind him, there stood Ginny, and a little further away Ron, both flushed and panting, with their hands on their knees.

"Paraphrasing your own pick-up lines? That's low, Harry," Ginny shook her head.

"You told Ginny that?" Ron chortled.

"If I were you, I'd shut up," Harry said, trying to fight off his embarrassment with glaring. "Do I have to remind you that-"

"No, no, I'm good," Ron raised his hands.

"What does Ron need to be reminded about?" Ginny asked curiously.

"Nothing," Ron snapped.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "D'you really think that biting my head off would convince me that it really was nothing?"

Harry grinned. "Hypothetically, without your head, you wouldn't really care... unless you're a mantis..."

"Merlin, Harry, you sound like Hermione," Ginny sighed.

Ron suddenly groaned. "That means that out of the four of us, only Ginny hasn't been infected."

"_Infected?_ By what?"

"Well, if Harry just sounded like Hermione, and I did back in first year, only you are still yourself, Ginny."

"When did you sound like Hermione?" Harry asked.

Ron shook his head. "I don't remember exactly. I just know that you told me that I sounded like her because of something."

Harry frowned. "I don't remember anything like that at all."

"And I'd like to know why my boyfriend thinks that I'm an infection." Hermione folded her arms.

"Well... just imagine that everyone in the world would be a nerd like you. It would be madness!"

"How can Ron tell me that I don't care about my safety and then say something like that to Hermione?" Harry muttered to Ginny.

Ginny shrugged. "Dunno. But just so you know, both of you are like that. Well, all three of you, actually. Doing something insane without so much as a _thought_ about your safety and giving _me _heart attacks!" She mock-glared at Harry.

"Hey, it's not like I ask for it," Harry raised his arms. "Those things just... happen. And I don't think that you have a right to say anything after attempting to steal the Sword of Gryffindor."

"You're contagious," Ginny grinned. "All three of you are, if I think about it. You with your recklessness, Hermione with her know-it-all-ness, and Ron with his absolute lack of tact… No _wonder_ everyone calls you the Golden Trio; you complete each other."

"Yeah. Remind me again how this nickname thing started?"

"Well, I don't know, 'cause it's been up by the time I arrived. Maybe it's 'cause you're all Gryffindors and the Gryffindor colours are red and gold, and the Red Trio would sound... well..." Ginny hesitated, trying to find a fitting word.

"We'd sound like a bunch of vampires," Harry snorted. Suddenly, he growled, making it seem like he was about to bite Ginny's neck, but instead of taking a bite, he kissed Ginny's jaw.

Ginny sighed, feeling shivers travel up and down her spine from the touch. She felt self-conscious, expecting Ron to yell at them, but the expected yell never came.

"Hey, where have Ron and Hermione gone to?" she asked, because they weren't anywhere in sight.

"To fight and snog, I suppose," Harry suggested, and sure enough, they saw the two kissing behind a big oak tree. Harry chuckled. "They're always all over each other. I'm honestly surprised this is the first time they've snogged today."

"Catching up on all those years they should've spent snogging, I suppose. I used to think it was them that should wear glasses, not you," Ginny said, sporting a smile of her own.

The line was slowly moving, and when only two people were in front of Harry and Ginny, Ron and Hermione came back, both with messy hair and a slightly wild look in their eyes.

"Done for now?" Harry grinned.

"Shut up," Ron scowled.

"Harry, shouldn't you prepare the money?" Hermione suggested, anxious to change the subject.

"Yep, I probably should," Harry said. He put his backpack on the ground and fished the banknotes out of it.

"I still think the money's strange," Ron muttered.

"How? It's much lighter to carry than the wizarding money, for one, and it's also easier to calculate," Hermione said.

"No it isn't," Ron argued. "I've always got to look at the value."

"Yeah, but the values are sensible numbers - ten, twenty, fifty, hundred; not seventeen and twenty-nine. Those numbers are completely random!"

"Guys, you might want to shut up," Ginny warned. The people in front of them had just got their tickets, so they were next.

The boy behind the counter couldn't have been much older than the four wizards. He had choppy light brown hair and his thin face was framed by slovenly-shaven sideburns. "How can I help you?" he said in a bored voice, chewing a gum.

"One family ticket and one adult, please," Harry said.

The boy frowned. "But there's four of you and no child. A family ticket means two parents with a child."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "According to your price list, a family ticket means two adults and one kid. Well, she's not of age," he pointed at Ginny.

A frown of annoyance formed on Ginny's forehead, but before she could object, Hermione nudged her. "Muggles come of age at eighteen," she whispered, shooting Ginny a warning look.

"That's not how it works," the boy argued.

"Well, then there's a mistake in your price list. We're three adults and one underage, so we should get one family ticket and one adult."

The boy scowled at Harry and turned around on his chair. "Hey John, could you come here for a sec? We've got a bit of a problem..."

"Sure Chris," could be heard from the back and a middle-aged bald man came to the view. He had a quick, hushed discussion with Chris, and then went back to where he'd come from.

Chris turned back, a sloppily hidden victorious expression on his face. "My boss has told me that children are only less than one metre fifty anyway, and all of you are taller. So, all of you will have to buy adult tickets."

"Less than one fifty?" Ron cried out incredulously. "I was that tall when I was ten! I'd really like to see those ten-year-old adults."

Ginny suppressed a snort. She had trouble believing that the current Ron, who was a towering one metre and ninety-four centimetres tall, was adult. If someone had called Ron an adult at ten, it would've made her either call the brain-damage ward at St. Mungo's, try to figure out a way to never become an adult or just flat-out faint. Quite possibly all three, though not necessarily in this order.

"And we didn't like when twenty-year-olds tried to say they were seventeen," Chris retorted with the same air of cold arrogance not uncommon for Slytherins. "That's why the height limit has been taken up."

Harry wasn't going to give up so easily. "There's no mention of a height limit on the price list," he argued.

Chris smirked. "Should I call my boss again? He'll tell you the same. It's a novelty, so we haven't had the time to change the price list yet."

"But then you're lying to the visitors." Hermione joined in the argument. "You should provide the correct information."

"Weren't you listening?" Chris snarled. "It's a novelty! Besides," he said, eyeing Ginny's pocket-less outfit up and down, "how do you want to prove she's not an adult?"

Harry growled. He didn't appreciate that Chris had struck gold with this question, but mostly, he felt angry at himself for not realising the problem beforehand. In the wizarding world, wands were used to identify people. Wizards had no ID cards, as they didn't need them. But if Ginny gave her wand to a Muggle like Chris, he would've just laughed at her at best. In the Muggle world, wizards, and especially pureblood wizards, really had no means to prove their identity.

What Harry appreciated even less was the way Chris was looking at his girlfriend. Ginny was taken, and Harry was going to make damn well sure Chris was aware of that. He draped his arm around Ginny's shoulders possessively, sending a glare towards the cashier. Then, he opened the leather pouch with money, counted thirty-two Pounds, eight per person, and dropped them at Chris' desk.

Chris took the money calmly, counted it and when everything was alright, he handed four wristwatches to Harry. At least, they looked like wristwatches, except the most important part was missing – the dial with the hands. Only an empty circle was there.

"Come on, let's go," Harry said, tugging at Ginny's arm with his free hand. He didn't wish to spend any more seconds in Chris' presence than necessary.

He wasn't alone. When they were several metres behind the cash desks, Ron turned around, muttering, "What a prat."

"He's just bored," Hermione protested feebly, but even she couldn't deny she found Chris unpleasant.

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny continued walking on a narrow path between hedges studded by leaflets like the one Harry had given to Ginny. There was no sign, but since everybody continued in this direction after paying for the entrance, they decided to follow. The fact that the only other way was back helped too.

Along the way, Ron, Hermione and Ginny all took one wristwatch from Harry. "What are we supposed to do with this thing?" Ron asked, looking at the wristwatch doubtfully.

"Well, I don't know... Something tells me we should put it on," Ginny said thoughtfully, tightening the ribbon around her wrist. "I think it's the common sense."

"I meant, what's it for?" Ron rephrased his question, glaring at Ginny, while Harry snorted.

"No idea, mate," Harry said. "This is the first time I've ever been to a water park. Even if the Dursleys went to places like this, they'd have left me at Figg's anyway."

Ginny wrinkled her nose. She really hated that she had to put the Dursleys in the same sack with Hagrid, but really; if they had gone out in swimsuits, she thought a lot of madhouses would've suddenly got jam-packed. Were swimming trunks big enough for Vernon and Dudley Dursley even availablein shops for sale?

"Hang on; you're saying that you have no idea what we've just walked into?" Ron exclaimed, effectively tearing Ginny out of Dursley-related thoughts. Sometimes, even Ron was useful.

Harry shrugged. "Like I told you, I've never been to anything like this. I just received the leaflet and thought we could try it. But," Harry's voice dropped to the level needed when walking past Walburga Black's portrait, "I've heard a rumour saying that some water parks and amusement ideas are really owned by cannibals, and that people should count themselves lucky to escape alive, much less with all limbs- Hey, why did you smack me, Hermione?"

"For being stupid," Hermione retorted.

"It wouldn't be the first time we've walked into the dangerous and unknown."

Hermione's eyes took on a dangerous don't-argue-with-me glint, so Harry figured surrendering would be the best option for his health. "Fine," he rolled his eyes. "You can ignore the last part."

Sending a glare at Harry, Ron turned to the other Muggle-raised person. "Any ideas, Hermione?"

Hermione shrugged. "I haven't seen anything like this before, but my best guess would be that this is something like a pass, or a ticket. I mean, if we wear it, it's the proof that we've paid for the entrance and could enter the pools or restaurants or something."

At the word 'restaurants,' Ron suddenly perked up. Without further words, he put the wristwatch on and increased his pace, forcing the others to walk faster as well, if they didn't want to get separated from the stomach-ridden Weasley.

At the end of the path, they reached a tall, modern-looking building. Its walls were painted dull asphalt-grey at the bottom, but the colour passed smoothly into sky blue higher up and at the very top, the building was school bus yellow. Huge double French doors dominated the bottom part of the building. Thanks to the seemingly never-ending line of visitors, they were always open. Besides the doors, nothing else disturbed the plainness of the grey walls. Windows were only on the higher floors, starting in the blue part and continuing to the very top.

Following other people, the four wizards entered the building. It was a right shock for them to step inside into the lobby, where the air was at least ten Degrees Celsius colder than outside. Being in the path of the cold air streaming from the air conditioning, Hermione shuddered, rubbing her arms subconsciously.

On the left side of the lobby, two young men in matching uniforms were sitting on desk chairs, playing hangman on the back side of a 'Jumping into the pool from the side is forbidden' sign. A key cupboard hung on the wall behind them. Some places held keys, but most of them were empty. An instrumental soft rock ballad sounded from the speakers hidden on the ceiling.

On the right side, people were constantly keeping the elevator occupied, travelling between the floors of the building. The less couch potato-y types and the ones that didn't feel like waiting used the staircase, too. And then, there were the people who chose neither the elevator, nor the staircase, but a special room a little further to the left, specially designed for those, who needed to finish their digestive process and say the last goodbye to their beloved meal.

However, the most interesting thing in the lobby took up most of the wall opposite the entrance, and it was precisely this object that had taken Ginny's attention and she alerted the others immediately. The quartet made their way through the lobby. There, they stopped and, as on cue, all four started reading. Yes, even Ron. Oh, how proud Hermione would've been if she- Hang on, she was there, too. Oh, whatever. Just... forget it and read the direction signs with the wizards and witches.

6th floor: Rooms 601 – 630

5th floor: Rooms 501 – 530

4th floor: Rooms 401 – 430

3rd floor: Rooms 301 – 330

2nd floor: Shops, sauna, massage, café bar

1st floor: Changing rooms, to the pools

0th floor: Lobby, exit, you are here

-1st floor: Staff rooms, laundry

"Well, it's clear now where we should go," Harry said. "To the basement."

"If your clothes stink, that's your problem. And in that case, I think I'd rather go the opposite way, to the first floor, and stay there," Ginny grinned, making Harry pout as his joke backfired on him.

"And what about a sauna?" Harry suggested, walking the staircase to the first floor.

Ginny snorted. "So you'd see me naked and sweaty? That's not what I came here for."

Harry gulped at the thought and opened his mouth to reply, but before he got to that, Hermione cut him off, reading the direction sign to the changing rooms aloud. But when they reached them, they were in for a surprise.

"They're common!" Ron exclaimed.

Ron was right. The changing rooms consisted of one big hall full of rows and rows of lockers and, as he was quick to point out, there was no male and female part of the changing rooms.

Ginny blinked. "Whoa. Now _that's _what I call a nice birthday gift," she said with a grin, still in the suggestive mood from her previous conversation with Harry.

Hermione's face went pink at the implication. "Don't be silly, Ginny. Look, nobody actually undresses here," she said, watching a family of four close their shared locker and head to the further end of the hall, all with their swimsuits in their hands while still wearing their normal clothes. In another alley, two girls about her age were walking in the opposite direction as the family, and they were carrying their clothes, as they had already changed into their swimsuits. "There must be another place for changing," Hermione reasoned.

Ginny pouted. "Must you ruin my fun?"

"Hey guys, come look at this," Ron said, beckoning to the others. He had caught a glimpse of someone he'd at first thought was Anthony Goldstein, and as he'd strayed away just to find out that the man was at least fifteen years older than his Ravenclaw year mate, he found the instruction manual to the lockers plastered on the wall. "It basically says that those wristwatch thingies are used to lock and unlock the lockers."

"But wouldn't then any wristwatch open any locker?" Ginny questioned, frowning.

Hermione shook her head in disagreement. "No, or there wouldn't be any point of the locks. I think there's some sort of sensor or something that recognises the locker when it's locked for the first time."

"Muggle technology," Ron grumbled. "So confusing."

"Come on, let's find an empty locker," Hermione suggested, rolling her eyes at Ron.

"There are empty lockers everywhere," Ginny protested, walking after Hermione when the other witch began strolling through the nearest alley.

"I know," Hermione said, "but I was thinking..."

"How shocking," Ron muttered and Hermione shot him a look.

"As I was saying; I was thinking we should get a locker with a number we wouldn't forget." Hermione continued walking through the alleys, once in a while tugging on a locker and frowning in disappointment when she found it locked. "Something like a remarkable date. Oh," she suddenly stopped by the open door of the locker number 410. "What about this?"

"The fourth of October," Harry translated, frowning. "I don't recall anything special happening on that day."

He looked at Ron and Ginny for help, but they both looked as lost as he did.

"It's McGonagall's birthday," Hermione explained.

The other three's jaws dropped. "Bloody- I mean- How do you even _know _that?" Ron exclaimed, gaping at Hermione.

Hermione blushed. "While I was patrolling the staff room corridor in fifth year, I overheard Flitwick wishing McGonagall happy birthday and saw him Conjure her flowers. McGonagall then said that the best birthday gift she could receive would be if Umbridge left Hogwarts."

"And you remembered that?" Ron asked in astonishment.

"I can't help it if I have a good memory for dates!"

"_Dates,_ she says," Ron snorted. "Hermione, you've got a good memory for bloody _everything!_"

Hermione looked down at her shoes. "Thanks. So... Is everybody alright with this locker?"

Ron shrugged. "If you're sure you'll remember the number, why not?"

Harry and Ginny nodded their agreement, so after Hermione successfully locked and unlocked the chosen locker ("Better to try whether it works while the locker's still empty," she reasoned), they fished their swimsuits from Harry's backpack, locked said backpack in the locker and set off to search for the _actual _changing rooms.

"You know," Hermione said suddenly, "you all could remember the locker number quite easily as well. Just think of it in the American date format – month before day."

"The tenth of April," Ginny realised. "That's right; Teddy's birthday!"

"Exactly." '_Also, possibly the day when Snape was conceived, as he was born on the ninth of January,'_ Hermione thought, but for once, chose not to share the information. Merlin _knows_ she did not need Ron to accuse her of stalking the Hogwarts staff. Really, she didn't know so many birthdays; besides McGonagall and Snape only Flitwick (seventeenth of October), Lupin (tenth of March), Sprout (fifteenth of May), Hagrid (sixth of December), Lockhart, as much as it embarrassed her now (twenty-sixth of January), Quirrell (twenty-sixth of September), Trelawney (ninth of March), Sinistra (third of November), Filch (eleventh of February) and Madam Pomfrey (twenty-second of June)!

Following the trail of people carrying their swimsuits, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny reached a line of cubicles stretched along the wall, where the actual clothes-to-swimsuits changing took place. However, every cubicle was occupied, with at least one person standing in front of it waiting, so the wizards and witches chose four cubicles with the fewest people in line.

Coincidentally, Ron and Hermione ended up in neighbouring cubicles. Ginny couldn't let an opportunity like that slip away; slightly louder than necessary, she told the two not to try and look into each other's cubicle.

"Only if you do the same," Ron retorted, glaring.

Ginny took one look at the overweight, balding man on her left, who, unfortunately, chose that very moment to stick his finger into his ear, and her stomach turned. When she turned back to Ron, who was standing on her right, it was with a horror-struck expression on her face. "You can count on that," she choked.

No further conversations were held until the quartet had all changed into their swimsuits. Not wanting to block the already crowded alley in front of the cubicles, they had agreed to rendezvous by their McGonagall/Teddy birthday locker.

Harry was the first to arrive, but as Hermione had activated the locker, he had to wait for her in the alley. He had changed into his Oxford blue swimming shorts, and not wanting to carry his casual clothes, he had hung them over the top of the open door of the locker 407.

Ron came a little while after Harry, his shorts a lighter blue than Harry's, and he raised his eyebrows at Harry's clever use of the empty locker. He kept holding his own clothes, though.

"What's taking the girls so long?" Ron grumbled.

Harry shrugged. "Dunno. They should be here by- Whoa." His jaw dropped, for Hermione and Ginny had just appeared in the alley, and he couldn't tear his eyes off them; well, the latter in particular. Ginny had changed into a two-piece swimsuit, the bottom part was plain black and the top had zebra-like stripes, and Harry thought, as much as he was able to at the moment, that it was worth bringing her to the water park just for this.

When Ron turned around, his reaction wasn't all that different from Harry's. Except, obviously, that his eyes were set on Hermione, rather than his sister. Hermione's swimsuit was a two-piece as well, but of a yellow-green colour that reminded Ron of a chicken curry sauce, and he suddenly had a very hard time deciding which of these things of the same colour he'd pick over the other.

"Look Hermione, we've got our personal satellites," Ginny snickered, noticing how the boys' eyes followed the two witches in a painfully obvious way.

Hermione huffed. "Should I be offended?"

"Why?" Ginny asked, looking confused. "That wasn't supposed to be insulting."

"You just said I weigh a lot. I think that's pretty insulting," Hermione said.

"I didn't say anything like that," Ginny protested. "I said that Harry and Ron behave like our satellites."

"Exactly," Hermione replied. "'_Every point mass in the universe attracts every other point mass with a force that is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them,'_" she quoted. "That means that to have a satellite as heavy as Ron, I'd have to overcome the Earth's gravitational pull on him, so my weight would have to be- You're not following me, are you?"

"You've lost me after three words," Ginny admitted sheepishly.

"Well, not so many people understand Physics," Hermione said, shrugging.

"And I'm certainly not one of them," Ginny replied. "But did you really think I meant it from the Physics point of view?"

"No," Hermione admitted. "But sometimes, it's fun to take things literally and watch the others' expression."

Ginny stuck her tongue out at Hermione and moved in front of Harry, snapping her fingers in his face. "Hey, stop staring. One would think this is the least amount of clothes you've ever seen me in."

This woke Ron and Harry up very quickly. "WHAT?" Ron roared, advancing on Harry, who sent Ginny a panicked 'Why Did You Do This to Me?' look before edging away from Ron.

"I haven't seen her naked, I swear!" Harry cried. "Ginny's just made it up!"

Snickering, Ginny turned towards Hermione, who was looking at her with an exasperated look on her face. "Say Hermione, should we bring the wands with us?" she asked brightly, not looking at all concerned about her boyfriend, who was getting cornered by a threatening-looking Ron.

Frowning, Hermione shook her head slowly. "I think we should keep them in the locker," she said. "There's a chance we might accidentally break our wands when we go down a slide. Also, we'd look quite silly holding sticks in our hands."

Ginny nodded thoughtfully. "You've got a point. The only way we could have the wands on us is having them shoved up our bums and I don't really feel like doing that."

Hermione made a choking noise which turned into huffs of laughter. Ginny grinned at her before turning her attention to Harry, who was still backing away from Ron while stammering some nonsense. She couldn't hold her laughter in anymore.

"Ron, stop; Harry's right. I made it up," she called eventually before turning to the witch beside her. "No, Hermione; _this _is fun to watch."

* * *

_Preview - chapter 4:_

'_And now, let's hear the Adagio for fridges and washing machines in C major!'__  
_

_Review, and we might actually get in the water... :)_


	4. I Feel Like

_Chapter 4 is here, people, beta-ed by Beth Weasley Snape and not owned by me. _

* * *

_**I Feel Like…**_

With Harry successfully saved from the 'overprotective big brother temper tantrum,' as Ginny had called Ron's outburst - earning herself a scowl from the said overprotective big brother - she led the others 'to the pools,' following the direction sign with those three words written on it with a fancy green script. She wondered for a moment why the letters were green – after all, water was usually portrayed as blue, and green water didn't sound like something she'd like to have full ears and nose of – before dismissing the thought when the direction sign had led her to a wall.

"Is this a _joke_?" Ginny wondered out loud, looking around.

The room they had entered was about twice as big as her room at the Burrow and the walls were covered with wallpapers picturing a mineral, the milky-white colour of which was randomly accompanied by veins of the same colour as her hair. Ginny was sure Hermione would know the name of the mineral, but at the moment, that was the least of her worries. She was more concerned about the fact that she could clearly hear running water, and the sound seemed to come from _behind_ the walls, and what was even more confusing, it came from every direction except the one they'd come from.

The third, and the most worrying mystery was that the four wizards had followed a family of three into the room, but now, they were nowhere to be seen. There weren't any hiding places in the room, as the plain walls offered none. So where had the family gone?

It was Hermione who voiced that question. After all, people couldn't just disappear; especially not Muggles.

"Cannibals, I told you," Harry said.

Hermione rolled her eyes at the suggestion. "With an invisibility cloak, right? Don't be silly, Harry."

She traced a line on the wallpaper with her finger, and finally knocked on the wall, frowning when she couldn't find anything unusual in the sound it had emitted.

"Maybe we should go back to the lobby and-"

The rest of Hermione's suggestion was drowned in Ron's yell of surprise. Immediately, Harry, Hermione and Ginny whirled around, only to exchange bewildered and nervous expressions.

Ron had disappeared.

"Ron? _Ron!_ Ron, where are you?" Ginny shouted, but no answer came, making her stomach clench in worry.

"Come on, Ron, this isn't funny," Harry called, his own concern - and sense of self-preservation, since both Ginny and Hermione were within punching distance - preventing him from making another cannibal joke.

Hermione, meanwhile, had rushed to where she had last seen Ron. She tried to find any signs about what could've happened, but nothing seemed different about this part of the room compared to the others. Except...

"Harry, Ginny, come here," Hermione said, breathing heavily. "Stand where I stand."

"And?"

"Don't you feel some breeze past your feet?" Hermione asked.

Before Harry or Ginny got to answer, heavy footsteps had alerted them to the arrival of the same man Ginny had stood next to by the changing cubicles. The man gave them a swift look and gave a hearty chuckle. "First time here, are you? Well, what are you waiting for? Go inside."

"Where, inside?" Hermione inquired with furrowed eyebrows, but just then, a cold and wet hand grabbed her shoulder from behind and she jumped about two metres into the air, screaming bloody murder.

The man's chuckle had turned into full-blown laughter, but Harry, Hermione and Ginny ignored it as they turned around abruptly. Three pairs of eyes went wide. In front of them, with water dripping from his right hand and a wide grin plastered on his face, stood-

"Ron!"

Torn between wanting to whack him round the head and kiss him, Hermione grabbed her boyfriend into a rough hug and pulled back very fast, her face flushed. "Where have you _been?_"

"Right here," Ron replied, half-laughing.

Not wanting Ron to see the relieved expression on her face, Ginny whipped her head around to see what the fat bloke had meant by 'go inside,' but like Ron and the family before, he had already disappeared.

'_Of course. Why not?'_ Ginny thought, mentally rolling her eyes. '_Why can't this be a room that vanishes people, and then spits them out later?'_

Ron, seeing that Hermione wasn't impressed with his explanation, sighed. "Try to lean against the wall."

Hermione's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Why?" she asked.

The last time she had followed Ron's 'suggestion' without questioning, she ended up with the fabric of her t-shirt turned into vanilla jelly. Not an easy spell, but Hermione had been far from impressed.

Ron rolled his eyes. Instead of a verbal reply, he poked into the wallpaper behind him, and it caved in before returning back to its original position.

Hermione gasped. "There's another room behind the wallpaper! That's why I felt the wind go past my feet!" Then, her eyes narrowed. "Why didn't you say anything? We were worried!"

"More fun this way," Ron said, shrugging.

"You're _so lucky_ I can't hex you right now," Hermione gritted through her teeth, her eyes practically slits under her eyebrows, which were scrunched together so much, they practically formed one line.

"Save it for when we return to the Burrow and come here," Harry's voice said from behind the wallpaper.

Hermione moved the wallpaper aside and stepped behind it, only to receive a face full of shower water. She squealed and jumped away, blinking furiously at Harry and Ginny, who were sharing a high-five under the shower head, both already wet from head to their toes. Well, it explained why Ron's hand had been wet when he scared her, at least. And speaking of that...

"It's like Platform Nine and Three Quarters, isn't it?" Hermione mused, watching the entrance, which looked far more obvious from the other side.

For one, there was the little difference of the thickness of the wall and the wallpaper. For another, the room was garnished by mosaic wall tiles (which was to be expected, since the shower head, Harry and Ginny were having fun with dominated the little room) and the wallpaper couldn't pull that look off even if it tried.

"Yeah," Ron nodded thoughtfully, "except it would hurt a lot less if it was blocked."

The memory of searching through the whole train frantically replayed in Hermione's mind and she shivered – though that might've also been because another dose of water from Harry and Ginny's shower war landed on her.

"I still can't believe you suggested flying that stupid car to Hogwarts," Hermione muttered.

"Hey, that _stupid car _saved me and Harry's lives when Aragog tried to serve us as dinner to his offspring," Ron protested. "And we didn't _choose _to get locked out of the platform."

Ron fell silent. He caught Hermione's eye and he knew she was thinking the same. The little guy didn't deserve to die. Not after all that he'd had to endure during his life as a servant to the Malfoys. '_Wherever he is now, I hope he's got many socks to choose from,'_ Ron thought.

A particularly loud shriek from Ginny diverted Ron and Hermione's attention. Harry had very conveniently forgotten to tell Ginny that he'd changed the temperature to ice cold before splashing her. As a payback, Ginny was now pushing Harry under the flowing water so that he'd get a taste of his own medicine.

"How old are they, again?" Hermione sighed, shaking her head at the couple. "What is this room, anyway?" she asked Ron.

Ron's eyebrows disappeared under his hairline. "Hermione Granger doesn't know something? Everybody take cover and prepare for the apocalypse!"

Hermione's arm shot out and punched Ron in the shoulder. "Shut up and tell me," she said, scowling.

Ron frowned, but then his expression cleared. His mouth split into a grin and he nodded before emitting several noncommittal throaty sounds with his mouth clamped shut.

Hermione's forehead made a quick, but rapid acquaintanceship with the palm of her right hand as she glared daggers into Ron, but her twitching lips betrayed her amusement at Ron's little eloquent spectacle in the Elk language.

Finally, using her hands, Hermione opened Ron's mouth manually and he quickly caught her wrists with his hands and pressed a light kiss to her knuckles. "You're right; it _is_ fun to take things literally."

Hermione huffed, but left her hands in Ron's grip. With a nod of his head, the human skyscraper gestured to the part of the room further to the right, where it continued 'round a corner.

Along the way, Hermione noticed that the roar of water she heard was getting louder with every step she took.

'_It doesn't make sense,' _she thought, frustrated._ 'I'm walking _away _from the shower.' _But when she turned the corner, the thought was very quickly replaced by a disbelieving '_They can't be serious!'_

In the centre of the opposite wall, there was a gaping circular hole. Or, it would be better to say that it was the beginning of a huge green tube, which continued steeply downwards. Water was pouring into the tube from two nozzles on the ground. The sign 'Necessary to shower before using slide' above the entrance explained why Harry and Ginny were currently in the middle of a brutal splash war.

"No way," Hermione whispered, shaking her head at the absurdity. "The exit is down this slide?"

"My thoughts exactly," Ron said with a snort.

"Oh no. Hermione, you're on the same wavelength with Ron! We should get you some pills immediately!" a female voice said in mock-panic.

Ginny and Harry had apparently had enough of splashing, and they had decided to join Ron and Hermione. They would get more opportunities to get wet, after all.

Ron released Hermione's hands for a moment to send Ginny a rude hand gesture, but she was unimpressed. "Shower, Ronald; have you not read the sign?" she said in an imitation of her mother, and as she was good at imitating voices, Ron actually jumped in shock, even though he'd seen Ginny's lips move.

After a quick trip to the shower, Ron was back with the others, gazing down the water slide. Hermione, who realised she hadn't been through the entrance ritual either, joined them a couple of seconds later. She chose to wait until Ron returned to visit the shower herself to avoid Ginny's and Harry's suggestive comments. Despite the two of them having been through the very same thing no more than a minute ago, she knew them well enough to know that the chance of neither of them saying anything about her and Ron being in the shower together was convergently approaching zero.

"This looks a bit too much like the slide we pushed Lockhart down more than five years ago," Harry muttered, straining his neck in an attempt to see the bottom, but as the slide wasn't completely straight, he was unsuccessful.

"Well, I hope it doesn't pour toilet water, then," Ron said, watching the nozzles suspiciously.

Suppressing a shudder of disgust at the image, Ginny stepped into the slide. "Only one way to find out," she said and jumped in.

Harry, Ron and Hermione only saw her hair for about two seconds before it disappeared as the slide turned. Sharing a fond look, the Golden Trio then steeled themselves to overcome another obstacle most wizards had never encountered: a water slide.

The slide spat them out into a little rectangular outdoor pool, less than one metre deep. Spluttering and trying to get their eyes and ears rid of water (after a little help from Ginny, Ron had to do that twice), they surfaced, shivering slightly despite the sunlight when a light breeze touched their wet bodies.

Even if Ron didn't tackle her rugby-like from behind ("That's what you get for pushing me back in the pool!"), Ginny would have had her breath taken by the view. Wrapping her arm around Harry's shoulders for a one-sided hug without even really thinking what she was doing, she surveyed her surroundings, her chocolate brown eyes full of childlike wonder.

The area of the water park wasn't very huge, but every single square femtometre was used. No less than four towers sprouting water slides of all shapes, lengths and colours stood above the multiple pools, each designed in a different way, forming a semi-circle around a low, stout circular building in the middle. Through the glassy walls of the building, Ginny could make out two indoor pools. Behind the towers, there was a wooden building with a shingle roof. Judging by the amount of umbrella tables clustered in front of it, Ginny guessed it was probably a restaurant. Before her stomach could register that fact and start making pleading noises, though, she rather switched her attention to a little playground with a couple of swings, a merry-go-round and a climbing wall. A canyon cut snake-likely through the centre of the water park, encircling the towers and serving as the ground part of a gigantic slide structure; a water coaster, which ran through most of the park. The rest of the space was taken up by either paths or grassy fields pockmarked by beach chairs.

The tower the furthest on the left was shaped like a turtle. The slides coming from its shell and head were fairly short and smooth. It didn't take a genius to figure out that it was the kid-safe zone.

The tower next to it was the complete opposite. At the height respectable for a skyscraper, the giraffe-shaped tower hosted three speed slides: a yellow plain, straight one and a green, cascade-like one, along with a purple half-pipe. All three slides were almost vertical most of the time. Along with those, a much milder (but also much longer) blue flume ran from the top of the giraffe's head, twisted so much it looked like a giant buffer spring. The water coaster went right through the giraffe, the staircase curving itself around it.

The third tower bore the shape of an elephant. This massive tower held the biggest amount of slides: a straight indigo blue tube slide from the trunk, two identical scarlet flumes twisted more than the small intestine during constipation from the huge ears, a large, white, six-track, multi-lane, racer from the back and a green-and-black striped bowl from the... err, from under the tail. Added to that, the top of the elephant's head served as one of the 'hills' of the water coaster.

Finally, the last tower wasn't supposed to resemble an animal. On the contrary, it looked like a scary, haunted mansion. The water coaster ran through one part. Two black tubes sprung out of 'broken windows,' both with grey lines drawn on them, like they too, were about to shatter to pieces at any moment. A violet-and-black chequered funnel found its place in between them; if the 'broken windows' were the eyes of the mansion, the funnel was the big, creepy, runny nose. Another tube came out of the side of the mansion, this one jungle green, it didn't mouth in an outside pool, but returned inside, ending in some spooky cellar.

Hermione, however, didn't spend so much time observing the towers. One question had been bugging her since she'd discovered the... _unusual _exit from the hotel. If water slides were used for going _out_ of the hotel (back in the room where Ron had disappeared, Hermione had heard water from several directions, so she supposed there were more slides like the one they'd arrived by), how was one supposed to go back _in?_

Turning around, Hermione saw the way to go up. Once again, it wasn't _quite _what she would expect. There were other slides, all right. They ended in little pools, too; and that's where the problem came up. Not _all _of them did. One of the slides' bottom end was above the ground and, as far as Hermione could see, there was no water flowing in the slide, either. Only after squatting down, she could see why. Inside the tube, which was larger in diameter than other tubes, there were little steps – like a secret staircase to a children's castle. While resisting to face-palm at the idea, Hermione couldn't stop her eyes from performing a flawless double three-sixty.

Harry, though, wasn't looking at the slides, waterless or not. While smothering his laughter at Ron and Ginny's fight, his eyes found a map of the water park. A smaller version of that exact map was also depicted on the leaflet he'd given to Ginny, but admittedly, that wasn't something Harry had paid a lot of attention to before.

According to the map, the slides, and all other attractions in the water park, were divided into five categories. The blue 'Nursery' part consisted of the turtle slides and the surrounding pools. The green 'Take It Easy' part incorporated the pools which didn't belong to any water slide, most of the elephant slides and the central building, which turned out to shelter indoor thermal massage pools. The elephant's trunk tube, the giraffe flume, the water coaster and most of the mansion slides held the red 'Just Get Wet' colour. Black 'Screamer' were the remaining three giraffe slides and the green mansion ending-in-the-cellar tube. Finally, white 'For Non-Swimmers' was the colour of the non-water-related attractions, such as the restaurant, the playground, the sauna, the exit and, for some unexplainable reason, one of the paths.

"Hey," Ginny said suddenly, making the others' heads snap towards her. "What are those things?"

A portion of the water park's visitors were carrying huge inflatable pool floats. The floats came in two colours – electric blue and maize – and two shapes. There were smaller, one-seat circular floats with two hands on the side, but also bigger, two-seat floats, which looked like the number eight and had twice as many handles.

"Pool floats," Hermione explained. "On some slides, it's necessary to use them."

Ginny looked offended. "Why should it be necessary? I can swim."

Hermione laughed. "That's not why. I think it's because the slides are too flat, so people could stop and other might collide into them. The floats should keep everyone moving."

"Also," Harry added, "it's to avoid thin-sliced human ham accumulating at some points of the slide."

"Could you give it a rest with the cannibal jokes, mate?" Ron groaned.

"This is not a cannibal joke," Harry protested. "It actually happened; I saw it in the news."

"_Human ham?!_"

"Well, while Harry could've phrased it _differently,_" Hermione said, throwing a look at him, "it's true. The slides, especially the longer ones, aren't undivided; they are made of several shorter pieces, and if the joints aren't done well and the lower piece overlaps the upper... it's like a razor."

"You mean, a ride down one of these can have me leaving slices of my bum behind?" Ginny asked, wincing, pointing at the slides. "In that case, I think I've just forgotten how to swim."

"Don't worry," Harry laughed, "insurance companies should cover that."

"_Great,_" Ginny snorted. "But even if this company covered the purchase of a new bum, would you like it as much as you like my current one?"

Ron cleared his throat. "Could we move, then?" he said forcefully, utilising the fact that Harry was momentarily struck speechless, his mind overloaded with mental pictures Ron would strangle him for. Not for the first time, he was thankful Ron wasn't a skilled Legilimens.

As they made for the elephant, they passed by one of the speakers strategically situated all around the water park. The speaker was blaring in a boom-boom-boom rhythm, and it was clear that it wasn't to Hermione's liking.

"Must they turn the music up so much?" Hermione complained, glaring at the offending speaker and covering her ears with her hands as the sound waves and the rhythm were sending vibrations through her whole body.

Ginny, on the other hand, had a different problem. "Is this supposed to be music?!" she exclaimed. "Dean said Muggles had better music than us, but this is rubbish! No melody, no lyrics, no anything. It's almost worse than Celestina Warbeck."

Harry frowned at the speaker. "Dean's right, Muggle music is good, usually. The one in the lobby was alright. Dunno why they're forcing us to hear this. Sounds like a washing machine symphony."

"Does it matter? Let's move," Hermione muttered, though her lips twitched at the mental image of a white goods orchestra. '_And now, let's hear the Adagio for fridges and washing machines in C major!'_

The quartet continued in their journey towards the elephant. The path led between two swimming pools, which stayed true to their names – they were for swimmers, which meant there were no slides or massage fountains and the water was much colder than in other pools. Seeing an opportunity, Harry hung back a little, cupped the water from the pool into his palms and splashed Ginny from behind. Ginny yelped, turning around abruptly, and whacked the laughing Harry, calling him several unflattering names.

The elephant area was much more massive than it looked like from a distance. Especially the shape of the bowl was misleading; it was actually much wider in perimeter than it appeared to be, so it gave the whole structure the look of a flat, anorexic pachyderm, when in reality it had the body of an animal leading a healthy lifestyle with a balanced diet and possibly guilty of occasional midnight snacks.

A group of six boys that looked approximately eleven years old with floats in their hands whizzed past, trying to outrun each other and be the first in the line for a slide – probably one of the two over-curved flumes, which were the only slides on the elephant, on which floats were used. Not really paying attention, one of the boys' float slammed into Hermione. She only fell into Ron's arms, which had shot out reflexively, but Ron still deemed it necessary to yell after the boy, "Hey, excuse you!" However, the group had already reached the staircase and so they were away from the hearing distance.

Shaking her head, Hermione watched the boys push each other while climbing up the stairs. "They're asking for an injury. Were we like that seven years ago?"

Ron looked at his sister meaningfully. "Definitely," he said, earning himself a shove from the said sister, whose eyes then acquired a mischievous glint.

"If that's what you think," Ginny muttered before shoving Ron again and running away, calling, "The last one up is a Flobberworm!"

This time, though, Ginny had built up a sufficient gap before the Trio realised what was going on, so unlike the race on the road to the Burrow, Ginny managed to sprint up the stairs and on the elephant's back before Harry and Ron caught up with her. One thing stayed the same, though; it was Hermione again who brought up the rear.

"Not fair," Hermione whined, "you guys are all more athletic than I am."

"We know," Harry, Ron and Ginny chorused cheerfully, making Hermione pout. However, it had no effect on the laughing trio, and she stayed in that expression until another horde of wild eleven-year-olds made her realise she and the others were standing in the middle of the platform and blocking the way.

"Well," Hermione sighed, "which one first?"

A triple shrug of shoulders, synchronised so that it looked like a Mexican wave, was the only answer Hermione got. Rolling her eyes, she took a step to the left, joining the line of people waiting for their chance to slide down the bowl. A 'safety instructions' board appeared in her line of vision and she squinted to read it, huffing in frustration when drops of water from her wet hair fell in her eyes and she had to wipe them away.

"Guys? I think we all should read this," Hermione said, beckoning to the others to join her.

"'_Safe positions?'_" Ginny read, sniggering.

"Yeah; only one person at a time," Harry replied, having got past the title and studying the numerous 'forbidden' signs.

"Doesn't sound so safe," Ginny commented, laughing even harder. "But quite common, I'd say. And I should lie on my back," she added, pointing at one of the signs. "They're pretty straightforward about this, aren't they?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "And what about this, Ginny? 'Swimsuits must be worn on the slides at all times,'" she read.

Ginny's shoulders and voice dropped dramatically. "That's pretty safe, then," she mumbled.

Ron snorted suddenly. "Look at this! 'Children must be supervised at all times. Children must not be left unattended in or around the pool area.' What do you have to say about this, Ginny?"

"That you shouldn't be here at all," Ginny retorted. "'Pets are not allowed inside the park.'"

To her left, Hermione was shaking her head at 'Please do not run. No pushing, dunking, shoulder riding or other inappropriate behaviour allowed in facility.' Thinking of the group of eleven-year-olds that had scudded past her, she wondered how many percent of guests did actually read the rules.

Meanwhile, Harry was trying hard not to grin at another rule – this one saying that objects that could cause distraction to other guests weren't allowed. His eyes kept flickering to Ginny, or more precisely to her swimsuit, the zebra-like pattern of which was very successful at distracting him from other things – like reading the rules, for example. But if Ginny's swimsuit was a distracting object, and thus violating this rule, wouldn't solving this problem and getting rid of the object be against another rule, which said the swimsuit had to be worn at all times?

It seemed like Harry had just found a pair of contradictory rules. And if it was up to him, he knew very well which one of the two rules he'd prefer Ginny to disobey.

He didn't have much time to ponder over the rules, though; the line was moving and soon, it was time for Ron to jump into the bowl. However, the redhead was taking his time, casting apprehensive looks at the elephant's tail and the slide underneath. Admittedly, it looked much more formidable than the entrance slide, but that didn't save Ron from Harry snickering at him.

Eventually, realising he was creating a traffic jam, Ron turned around and looked at Hermione with a nervous expression on his face. "Uh, ladies first? What d'you think?"

"See what it took for Ron to become a gentleman?" Ginny muttered to Harry before both of them dissolved into laughter, pressing their hands to their mouths. Overhearing, as Ginny hadn't tried very hard to speak quietly, Ron sent both of them a glare.

"Are you _scared?_" Hermione said teasingly, nudging Ron in the side. Ron turned red and stepped away from the slide, not answering. "Let me show you how it's done," she added, stepped into the slide, sat down in the stream of water and pushed herself down. Ron then watched her figure disappear in the tube before reappearing in the bowl, making almost two circles around the edge and falling down the hole in the middle headfirst.

"Oh, the number of times he's heard that," Harry sighed in remembrance. "Almost every time we had to practice some spell. He has to be allergic to that sentence by now."

"Does he?" Ginny's eyes gained a devilish glint, the sight of which, along with her wet hair, made Harry's throat tighten. The dumb, innocent look she was trying to achieve even intensified the feeling, for some reason. "I don't understand. Why on Earth would he protest against Hermione herself wanting to make his wand work properly?"

Fortunately (though it's debatable for whom), Ron didn't hear Ginny's remark. Thinking that if Hermione had slid down so fearlessly, he had to manage it as well, Ron jumped down the slide at such speed, he did two whole circles before leaving the bowl involuntarily – headfirst, too. Watching Ron's graceless plop into the pool, Harry and Ginny started snickering.

"I bet I could land on my feet," Harry said.

Ginny snorted. "Show yourself, then, Chosen One." She shoved Harry towards the bowl, and when he sat down, she pushed him down the slide. From her position on the tower, she then watched, like a judge of an extreme sports competition, Harry's fight against the bowl. He fought bravely, Ginny had to admit; she saw him trying to control his slide with his hands and heels, and even throwing his whole body to the side, but it was all for nothing. Because eventually, even the saviour of the wizarding world was conquered by The Bowl and ended up hitting the pool upside down.

Ginny burst into giggles at the sight. Even though she was too far away, she knew very well what Harry's face must've looked like.

'_And how nice will it be if I manage to stay head up?'_ Ginny thought before jumping into the slide energetically.

For the first couple of metres, Ginny was sliding down a straight, dark tube, not unlike the one at the entrance, and she was enjoying the feeling of picking up speed. But then, the slide expanded into a bowl and Ginny shot out in the sunlight and started tracing a circle around the edge, which was actually folded down a lot, so it almost formed a tunnel, and Ginny was thrown into the shadow again.

'_Huh, it seemed much more open from the outside,' _Ginny thought, huffing when the water, which flowed to the very rim of the bowl, where it then fell down, kept raining on her face.

Eventually, the gravitation pull became stronger than Ginny's centrifugal force and she began spiralling slowly towards the outlet. At that point, Ginny noticed the force that made her spin sideways – a lot of physics seemed to be in use at the water park; Ginny made a point to ask Hermione about it if she ever had trouble falling asleep – and she tried one of Harry's methods of fighting it. Performing a sort of criss-crossing action with her legs, she tried to dig her heels in the slide as forcefully as she could. It worked at the beginning, but the closer to the outlet she got, the stronger the force became. The resulting effect was the same as Harry's and Ginny fell in the pool on her head with a splash.

Ginny had seen Hermione and Ron swim to the other end of the pool and climb out. Thinking Harry had probably followed them, Ginny decided to do the same – but underwater. She had always been good at holding her breath, and once she noticed that the pool was shallow enough for her to stand up once she ran out of breath, Ginny kicked out against the nearest wall and began swimming.

When Ginny saw the ladder (in retrospect, it probably wasn't such a good idea to keep her eyes open underwater; they burned afterwards), she resurfaced, spluttering, with a pair of feet right in front of her eyes. A yelp and a slight rise of the heels upon the sudden movement told her the feet belonged to Hermione.

"What happened to landing on your feet, huh?" Ginny shot at Harry as soon as she was able to form coherent sentences.

"Um... we never said what we were betting on," Harry said. "So the bet shouldn't count, right?"

"Sore loser," Ginny huffed.

"Am not," Harry pouted. "Anyway, are we having another go in this slide or we're trying something else?"

"One more try here and then we'll go somewhere else, I guess," Ron said and Hermione nodded, though she was more concentrating on trying to get water out of her ears than on the conversation.

Ginny nodded, too, until another part of Harry's sentence sunk in. "Hang on; you called _this_ _thing_ a _slide?!_" she exclaimed, pointing with her finger at the green and black slide.

Harry looked confused. "Yeah, 'cause it is. Something wrong about that?"

"That's not a slide; it's a bloody _toilet!_ It starts under a tail, the water comes from the sides and falls down a hole in the middle – just like a toilet!"

The description evoked smiles from the other three. "This gives a whole new meaning to the phrase 'I feel like poop,'" Hermione commented.

Ginny snorted. "'I feel like _poop?_' If you're gonna say it, at least say it right," she said before she led the other three to get flushed down one more time.

* * *

_Preview - chapter 5:_

_"After all, what all kids want to be when they grow up? Elephant booger! You're just the odd one out, I'm afraid."_

_Halfway through, now. Only four more chapters to go._


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